The Beginning of the End of Innocence
by demonesse
Summary: Team 7 grows up, losing their emotional puppy fat along the way as they discover who they really are. Of course it's sasunaru! And will they find their love and their redemption?
1. Worlds Collide

The Beginning of the End of Innocence.

_1. Worlds collide_

Uchiha Sasuke was brooding again, as usual. It was nothing new to Naruto. He was used to seeing his team mate's distant expression, as if he was living somewhere in his own dark little world.

Naruto would have been surprised to learn how true his observation was, if he and Sasuke were actually normal friends, on normal talking terms, or even just normal team mates. If Sasuke would actually admit such a thing to him in the first place. Or admit to anybody for that matter.

But they weren't normal friends, normal talkers (Naruto talked too much and Sasuke not at all), normal team mates or even just normal boys. What they were exactly, neither was sure. They didn't think too much about it, and just continued to exist, each in their own worlds.

Kakashi sensei was late, as expected. "Ohayo!" he waved carelessly, as he appeared in a poof of smoke on the top of the bridge. This was just their regular routine, as Sakura and Naruto pounced on him with various loud cries of "You're Late!" and "Stop Lying!"

They didn't mean any harm by what they did, it was just something that they did. It was comforting to have routine in the tumultuous life of the shinobi. They took what they could get, when they could get it.

Sasuke let out an almost imperceptible "hn" to the scene before him. This was his contribution to the routine. It was just so infuriatingly Sasuke. His too cool for school attitude, too cool to even say anything Sasuke style. It pissed Naruto off but he couldn't exactly say why. Sometimes he felt that Sasuke intentionally acted cooler than he had to be around him, because he knew it would piss Naruto off more.

Once again, Naruto would have been surprised to know how accurate he was. Sasuke pushed his buttons just because he _knew_ he could. It was the same way Naruto knew how _only_ he could irritate Sasuke in the same way. Of course, they'd both drink bleach before they admitted to this. To anyone at all, let alone to themselves or each other.

Their relationship was a strange one. You couldn't tell if it was there, but at the same time you couldn't say that it didn't exist. And so they just continued to live in their own little worlds, occasionally colliding head on with each other during their missions, but neither thought anything of it. They had their own lives to live, the other just happened to come along when they did.

Kakashi explained their new mission. He was going to be able to retire soon as their sensei he said (Probably so he could concentrate on reading his perverted book, Naruto thought sourly. Sasuke didn't really care or think at all. He just wanted to get out there, out of Konoha, out of his memories, out to kill a certain man. And Sakura just thought that now she could have some alone time with Sasuke, but she just had to get rid of that damned pesky Naruto.)

It was time for them to take up a mission by themselves, without his supervision. It was their first step towards eventual chunnin-hood (if only Naruto didn't insist on having to win the match at all costs, or Sasuke recklessly giving up all just to gain strength, and Sakura... well, if only Sakura would do what the other 2 did once in a while). This was his misfit team 7. His beloved, cute, adorable (hee hee, Kakashi smiled to himself under his mask) team 7, if he thought it about it carefully.

Actually Kakashi did think about these things carefully. It was only that he _appeared_ not to care, with his meticulously cultivated devil-may-care, nonchalant attitude. It helped him to cope with the life of the shinobi, being nonsensical and flippant when friends were lost, when previous sensei's (Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage) were lost, when team mates were lost, when students were almost lost.

It was a coping mechanism, just as Tsunade had tried to lose herself gambling, and what with her acting young. Jiraiya coped by being lecherous (but such a good writer!), Gai was all over the top, Asuma smoked too much and Kurenai... well Kurenai was just herself. We all got by as best as we could. Life goes on.

Naruto was quite excited about this new mission. But then again, he got excited about ramen, and even _playing_ ninja with Konohamaru and his gang (Damn, what was that snot faced kid's name again? thought Naruto. Soba? Ramen? Oh right, Udon!). Heck, he even got excited about Sakura. Uzumaki Naruto was highly excitable.

Quite the opposite of "ice-cold" Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke did _not_ get excited about anything. He didn't get mad, he got even. He didn't get flustered, he got focused. He didn't smile, he didn't pout, he didn't yell, he just _was_. Like that time that Naruto had bound him up so that he could pretend to be him and talk to Sakura, Sasuke had not gotten angry at all. He'd just been... peeved. You couldn't even call it irritated. He'd been more cheesed off with Sakura for bagging off Naruto. It was just one of those things you couldn't explain. He wasn't sure when the antagonism with Naruto had subtly and slowly changed into something resembling a _feeling_.

Sasuke was just "hn" about this new mission as usual. It was probably about time anyway. He still had to kill Itachi, which wasn't going to happen if he was to remain a genin.

And inner Sakura was wilting at the thought of an independent mission. She'd come to rely on Kakashi's judgement, and wasn't sure she could completely trust the two boys yet. Sure, they were her team mates, and they'd been through one chunnin exam, an Orochimaru encounter, a Zabuza near death experience, not to mention a Shukaku Sand Demon, and heaps of minor missions together, but there was always a voice in the back of her head telling her that if things didn't work out, Kakashi would somehow be there. She wasn't sure if she was ready to leave the nest yet.

She shuddered to herself at the thought of actually being left alone with Sasuke and Naruto for an extended period of time. There was really no telling what either would do. Both were liable to snap really. Inner Sakura actually trusted Naruto more than Sasuke, when it came down to the essentials. You could always read Naruto like a kindergarten book, but Sasuke was always such a mystery. It was part of his allure, although lately Sakura knew that her crush on him was slowly dying. Perhaps it had something to do with a certain thick browed, bowl haircut, green spandex jumpsuit wearing boy...

So they were to have an independent mission. Team 7 was quickly growing up. It was the beginning of the end of innocence.


	2. Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accep...

_2. Your Mission, should you choose to accept it._

The mission didn't seem like much, in fact, it was probably deceptively simple, Sasuke thought. He was used to looking underneath the underneath. You couldn't trust what your senses told you, because the world was really a screwed up place. It was either fuck or be fucked up. Sasuke was simple like that. Deceptively simple.

Sasuke had it in him to kill a man. It wasn't something that Naruto or Sakura possessed. But seeing your entire clan massacred by your older brother would do that to you. Your mind becomes completely simplified to survive. You see things in black and white. And just shades of red, blood red.

And Uzumaki Naruto wasn't really paying attention to what Kakashi sensei was saying as usual. _Baka_ thought Sasuke. He was going to have to answer all of Naruto's stupid questions later on. Naruto really irked him more than he let on. Naruto didn't fit into Sasuke's life at all. He couldn't categorise Naruto. He wasn't a fan girl like Sakura or Ino. He wasn't one of the others like Shikamaru or Shino. He wasn't just someone strong to fight like Gaara or Lee had been. He was justâ _Naruto_.

He was loud, he was annoying, he talked too much, he complained too much, he showed off, he wore an incredibly loud ugly orange jacket, his very existence irritated Sasuke. He made Sasuke _feel_ something other than the dulled angry red hatred for Itachi that kept him going each day. And Sasuke didn't like this _feeling_ one bit. Feelings made things complicated. And Sasuke didn't do complicated.

Suddenly this new mission seemed almost intolerable. Nothing but the three of them to get on each others nerves, no Kakashi to jump in and stop the in-fighting. Nothing like being stuck together for what was going to be a long 3 weeks. But life goes on, and it was just one of those things that had to be done. Hn.

Cheh! This was gonna be easy thought Naruto. Just spend 3 weeks patrolling the border area of Wind Country and Snow Country. How hard could it be? Maybe they could fit in some skiing while they were there. Then I'd show Sasuke how the pros _really_ ski. Mmm, snow and ramen!

Sakura had a vague feeling of unease that she couldn't put her finger on. That slight sickly nausea just in the pit of your stomach, nothing serious, but just _queasy_. She felt the same way as Sasuke. This mission seemed _too_ simple. True, it was their first independent mission, but Kakashi never did much on their supervised missions anyway. Something was definitely up

Team 7 were going to become true shinobi now, Kakashi thought to himself, as he watched them depart after he had briefed them. This was different from the chunnin exam when there was an end goal to work towards. This mission was just them on their own. To learn what it was to be real shinobi, no more playing ninja, boasting about becoming hokage, or thinking that you could really be an avenger, or being hopelessly infatuated with an unattainable boy. This was it team 7. I'm sure you can handle it.


	3. Interlude Only in Dreams

A/N: Because I'm a first time idiot still figuring out exactly how to work , bear with me. Sorry for the short 2nd chapter. Still working out the kinks in my writing style, I write slowly and like to meander. It's about trying to get the damned Sasuke-Naruto relationship out of my head. Reviews more than welcome. Even the bad ones, I think. Thanks to all who've reviewed so far! Uhm, will work on making longer chapters... and action is coming soon, I swear! (in the next chapter, it's already in the works)

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**Disclaimers:** Naruto and its characters are all owned by Kishimoto.

(forgot to put this in my first chapter, but better late then never! Don't sue! The intentions are good...)

**Setting:** Well, Sasuke hasn't left Konoha yet. We're all just waiting for the other shoe to fall really I guess. Team 7 has an independent mission that they're now preparing to go on. Not sure how it pans out, but if you've got plot devices you would like to see immortalised, by all means, review!

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3. Interlude - _Only in Dreams_

Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me. I could feel your warm arms around me. Hugging me gently, cradling me lovingly. Your rough but comforting touch smoothed away my hair from my eyes, and your low voice cooed meaningless words that sounded nice. Good. It was soothing away all the aches and pains of the day, and we could rest peacefully, contentedly, basking in our bond.

What bond? Bonds make us weak. We hurt because of our bonds. If we lived just to make ourselves happy, maybe the world would be a simpler place. But it isn't that way. I hate you and love you at the same time.

Sasuke woke with a start. Damned dreams. He could never figure out who was holding him so _preciously_ in his dreams. It didn't feel like his mother, and it scared him to think that it could be Itachi or even Naruto. He hated his dreams. It wasn't a means of subconscious escape for him. Only a place where his feelings decided to come out. And he didn't like it one bit. There was no control over his dreams, no control over his feelings.

Good thing there was the mission starting tomorrow. He'd like to pound the shit out of someone else to make himself feel better. It gave him a measure of control. Sasuke was twisted that way, and Naruto always bore the brunt of it. Sasuke didn't give it any other thought as he fell back to sleep. The fact he was going to kick Naruto's ass was an oddly comforting one, especially after disturbing dreams.

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"Only in dreams, we see what it means."- Weezer 

Naruto always slept restlessly, although no one knew it. He seemed like the oblivious kind of guy who could sleep through earthquakes. The truth was that he slept fitfully, in bursts between the agony of waking and deep unconsciousness.

So he dreamt patches of bloody red dreams, of Kyuubi taunting him in mocking tones from behind the gates of his own mind, of the villagers scorning him with hateful stares, even of pink haired Sakura continually rejecting him. He also dreamt of the blissful empty darkness, alone together with Sasuke.

But he never remembered any of his dreams the next morning. He was just himself when the sunlight came to chase away the dark dreams. He was just loud, irrepressible, eternally cheerful Naruto. And sometimes, in the quiet moments alone in his head, he wasn't sure which Naruto he preferred being. At least there was honesty in his dreams...

It was good that they had an independent mission tomorrow. He needed to become Hokage one day, and independence was definitely the first step. (Although the fact that he'd generally been independent since day 1, he didn't consider living alone and fending for yourself as independence. It was just something that he had to do because no one else would do it for him. This was _shinobi_ independence we were talking about now.) He actually didn't mind spending time alone with Sasuke and Sakura. They were a team after all, and they were almost friends, sometimes more, sometimes less. They were the closest thing he had to a family after Iruka sensei. After becoming Hokage and kicking Sasuke's ass along the way, he wasn't sure, and he never thought that far ahead anyway, was his last conscious thought as sleep claimed him for the night.

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"Cos I don't want to wake up sad" - Speedstar. 

Sakura didn't usually dream at all. She surprisingly didn't dream of a white picket fence and Sasuke, she just didn't dream at all. She wasn't an overly ambitious person, and there wasn't any real driving force in her life. Sakura was one of those people that just _was_.

But tonight she dreamt. She dreamt of watching her two team mates die before her eyes, and she was powerless to stop it. It felt like she was back in the Forest of Death, helpless and weak again, dependent on good luck and Rock Lee to jump in and save the day.

She felt the same agony of seeing Naruto beaten and battered as he fought for their lives and their dignity. She felt the same pain of seeing Sasuke bitten by Orochimaru (and suppressed an unconscious shudder) and those evil snake eyes taunting her. She felt the same fear of Sasuke giving into the darkness. She felt the atmosphere of evil swirling around in her head. She felt useless and small and _just a girl_. She felt like the third wheel, the one that they had to carry along as they struggled to complete this new independent mission in her dream. She felt like she was weighing them down from what they could achieve _without_ her.

Sakura hated that feeling. She was the smartest girl in class, and on one of the strongest Genin teams in the Leaf. She was one of the _team_, one of them, yet she could not even save her own team mates.

She tossed uncomfortably in her bed, feeling like she was missing something very important. After all, her intelligence told her, weren't dreams like premonitions? Your subconscious is trying to tell you something Sakura. Don't let history repeat itself...


	4. Border Towns

A/N: Once again, thanks to all for reviewing again! I'm getting quite excited about writing actually (who knew?) and all reviews help. I've stated from the beginning that this is going to be a sasunaru, so read at your own caution again. shrugs I like it that way. They have a complicated relationship, just the way life should be. Heh.

Still having trouble with making longer chapters, and mild formatting troubles as I get used to , so you'll just have to put up with me...

Finally got some action in...reviews more than welcome as usual. I'm thinking it'll develop something like Robin McKinney's, _The Blue Rider._

It'll develop slowly as usual... but thanks for staying tuned anyway.

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_­_- 

**Setting:** So team 7 starts their independent mission today! Now only then does Kakashi let them know what _really_ going on.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto

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_4. Border Towns_

-

There was more to this mission than Kakashi sensei had originally let on. He didn't want to spook them out before the mission itself, and so had left it till the morning they set out to fill them in on the rest of the details. It was typical last minute Kakashi.

"Well, you know you're going to be spending 3 weeks alone as an independent team scouting the border between Wind and Snow Country right? It's more than that actually."

He paused to scratch his head meaningfully as he searched for the right words.

"Hmm. Basically the border isn't very peaceful. Not to say that there's fighting up there, because there aren't a lot of villages along the mountain passes, but it's just not a very peaceful place."

-

Naruto was clearly itching to ask a question. If it wasn't peaceful, how come there wasn't fighting? It didn't add up at all in his head. (But then again, both Sakura and Sasuke thought, not a lot added up in Naruto's head anyway...)

"Eh, sensei,-

He was cut off by a dismissive wave of Kakashi's hand.

"Patience, Naruto, is one of the traits of the shinobi. You have to wait for your time, or you could put not only your life at risk, but also the lives of your team mates. Just let me finish briefing you guys, then you can ask me any questions you have, ok?"

Naruto promptly shut up, even if it was just momentarily.

-

"So, while you'll be patrolling the border, because we've had a few reports filtering back of... hmm, how shall I put this? Well, because we've heard that there is _unrest_ up there, we'll need you guys to gather some information for us."

At this point, Sakura put her hand up to ask a question.

"Sensei, if you don't know what is up there, how come you're asking a genin team to gather information?"

"Ah, good question Sakura. Well, basically, the village can't really afford to send out jounins or ANBU teams to scout the area, because we really have no idea what is going on up there. All I can say that it doesn't seem too dangerous, so that's why we're sending you guys to check it out.

"And how come you're not coming along with us sensei?" asked Sakura worriedly.

"Hai. I thought it would be good for your guys to have an independent mission by now. I also happen to know Gai sensei's team have already done an independent mission or two, and I don't really want to lag behind him. You know I'd never hear the end of it. sigh

"Heh. Anyway it's a natural process Sakura. You can't expect to remain genins as Team 7 under me forever. You guys _need_ to do this."

It's high time that Team 7 grew up now. No more spoon-fed missions and reckless behaviour. This was about survival now, more so than the Chuunin exam, because now there was no goal at the end of it, just 3 weeks out in the unknown. They didn't even know what kind of information they were expected to find, just that they find it.

-

-

By this time, Naruto was just busting to ask his question, as Sasuke let out one of his trademark imperceptible hns. Secretly, Sasuke probably wanted to ask the same question too, thought Naruto correctly. (although he didn't know it as usual)

"Anosa anosa! Sensei, I don't get it! So, the border, it's not peaceful, but there's no fighting. So how can there be unrest?"

"Ahh, Naruto, sometimes you do have these rare flashes of brilliance that makes it a delight to be your sensei."

Naruto couldn't exactly tell if Kakashi was being sarcastic, but decided to take it at face value, as he took most things. It was too much to think about underneath the underneath and what not right now.

-

"Well, Naruto, when I say _unrest_, I guess we've had some reports of supernatural activities coming back from the border area. But because we live in the world of shinobi, so it's hard to say exactly what is supernatural and what is not. I can tell you that it's not _demons_ though."

Naruto thought he nearly heard Kyuubi growl deep inside him. Which was strange, because he only heard Kyuubi when he really needed to, usually when he was in a life threatening situation.

Hmm. And Naruto didn't really think that their new mission was going to be a life threatening mission at all. Because Kakashi sensei wouldn't send them on some screwed up life or death mission for their first independent mission right?

Now, Naruto was having trouble telling if he himself was being sarcastic. Damned brain. Don't think these complicated thoughts!

-

"Huh? _Not demons_?" asked Naruto, head tilted to the side for an extra-dobe effect.

Sasuke let out another imperceptible hn and Inner Sakura nearly killed herself at his obtuseness. Eyurgh! Naruto, don't you get it _yet_? What other kind of _unrest_ is there?

-

Kakashi sighed as he continued to explain in that bored tone of his.

"Let's just call them _Spirits,_ ok Naruto? At least, that's what we think they are. We have no idea, which is why we're sending you guys to check it out."

Sakura nodded sagely. They'd covered all this just now. Why couldn't Naruto listen like normal people?

"Now, normally spirits don't wreak havoc or become malevolent, not the way demons are destructive."

Naruto felt Kyuubi growling low inside him again. _Damn straight_, echoed a deep red hoarse raspy voice in his head. Huh?

-

"But it seems like the _spirits_, if that's what they are, have caused some... _trouble_ up on the border area. It doesn't seem like anything too serious, just a few burning houses and misplaced babies, that sort of _usual_ thing you know. Not _much_ bloodshed at all really.

"So, in conclusion, we just need you guys to scout around, find out the usual, who, what, where, whys. Nothing too difficult for your first independent mission now is it?"

-

Naruto was the first one to yell after Kakashi had finished his final briefing.

"Hell yeah! Sounds easy! I bet I can fit in some skiing while I'm up there too!"

The others rolled their eyes as they finally prepared to set off. That queasy feeling had by now settled in the pit of Sakura's stomach, and she couldn't shake it. She just _knew_ that something _bad_ and something _big_ and something _wicked_ was coming their way.

Sasuke just wanted to get it over and done with. He'd kick Naruto's ass at skiing too while he was it. Just because he could. And because it made him feel somehow better...

-

-

Kakashi watched them as they left the village. Like Sakura, he too had felt something strange in the air, but he couldn't quite place it as well. Just something heavy and hanging and ponderous and taking up his oxygen.

Oh well, he thought to himself. No time for these musings now, I've got my own duties to fulfil now, in rebuilding Konoha.

They'll be fine. The reports from the border towns weren't anything to get rattled about. And anyway Sasuke and Naruto are pretty much beyond usual Genin strength. They've got Sakura to balance them out and think for them too. At the worst case I'll set my dogs on them if anything happens.

And with that, Kakashi had let team 7 go, off to find their own destinies, wherever it lay.


End file.
